UPDATE: Deadline has confirmed that Marvel will not be attending Comic-Con 2015. No reason was given, other than a vague note that they don’t “have anything new to show this year” (which isn’t entirely true — Captain America: Civil War has been filming for weeks now). They also note that DC is poised to take advantage of Marvel’s absence with a huge presence pushing both Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad.

Nobody — and we mean nobody — does Comic-Con quite like Marvel. In 2006 Marvel Studios held their first ever Comic-Con panel (announcing the first Captain America and Thor movies) and has returned every year (except 2011 when they opted to attend San Diego's East Coast sister New York Comic-Con). They've ruled the roost with dynamic, exciting presentations that mix showmanship with big announcements. But, that's all about to change. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn confirmed last night that, for the first time in nine years, Marvel Studios is skipping Comic-Con.

Somewhere Zack Snyder just got really excited.

As he often does, James Gunn popped up on Facebook for an impromptu Q&A session with his fans. One fan asked whether Gunn would be attending Comic-Con 2015:

Facebook

Well...that was unexpected. We didn't expect Gunn to visit in an official capacity (Guardians of the Galaxy 2 isn't expected to begin filming until later this year), but the news that Marvel might not attend sent shockwaves through the fan community. Some even accused Gunn of lying to cover Marvel's real plans, but Gunn quickly shot down that theory:

So, that's it. If you're planning on attending Comic-Con 2015, get used to the idea of not having that Saturday night Hall H panel grand finale. While it hasn't been confirmed, you can bet that Marvel will instead use Disney's own fan convention, D23, in August as their de facto Comic-Con. There have been rumors that Star Wars: Episode 7 will have a major presence at D23, so it only makes sense that Disney would want to keep their big properties at their own event. Marvel never really needed to go to Comic-Con (don't know if you've noticed but their movies seem to be doing just fine without the extra promotion), but Kevin Feige has always said it was about paying back the fans who have been so loyal more than anything else.

With Spider-Man joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and both Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War coming up, we thought Marvel might use their time at Comic-Con to promote their upcoming movies while making some big announcements about the future. After all, that's been the Marvel way for years now.

Marvel's absence will instead open up a window for Warner Bros. and the Justice League universe to make some major inroads. Though there was a Batman vs. Superman teaser panel last year, you can expect big, big things this year as the film opens next March. We expect Warner Bros. to take hold of this opportunity and try to reclaim the Comic-Con throne.